Strange occurrences covering police beat

When people think of a night cops reporter, their immediate assumption is that I cover breaking news such as fires, late night car chases and the occasional murder.

A majority of the time those assumptions would be right.

Although covering night cops for the News-Herald and a previous stint as a police reporter near Sandusky, I have come across a number of incidents that have been bizarre or at the very least out of the ordinary.

One case that always comes to mind is a police report detailing an intoxicated male falling asleep at a restaurant. At first, I thought it was just a run-of-the-mill brief. After reading further, it became apparent the man passed out in his car while ordering food in the restaurant’s drive-thru.

In some police reports, I have found instances where police will use pepper spray or a taser to subdue a combative criminal, though I have rarely come across a case, where the situation’s reversed.

That changed when I heard about an alleged robber, who stole three digital cameras and tried to escape in his car, according to court documents. Before he could get away, a security guard stopped him, but was doused with pepper spray. The security guard was all right and the alleged criminal was eventually caught and charged with the crime.

The next incident I did not personally cover, but heard about from a fellow police reporter.

She told me about an officer performing a routine traffic stop. When the officer approached the driver and his passenger, he noticed that the driver was unusually nervous for such a minor traffic offense. Before he went back to his cruiser, he heard the driver say that he had hidden his marijuana.

After he searched the driver, the officer discovered a bag of marijuana hidden in his anal cavity.

By far the strangest thing I have come across happened in a courthouse.

While chatting with a bailiff, he showed me surveillance video of a man walking through the courthouse. Before he exited the building, the man lifted his leg and something rolled out of his pants onto the floor.

Before I could ask any questions, the video showed a judge walking by the object and doing a double-take. Upon further inspection, the judge discovered it was a piece of feces.

Although I wish I could share more stories, I thought these were the most interesting and bizarre occurrences I have covered thus far in my career.